Bubble Science Experiment for Preschool

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Try this Bubble Science Experiment for preschool with your daycare kids. Have fun with bubbles and learn science concepts at the same time. And also get some great information for your daycare in the future.

We’re going to have fun with bubbles and learn some amazing things about science. Bubbles are not just fun to play with; they also teach us about shapes, colors, and even how air works.

In the past 29 years of running my own home daycare, I have wondered what bubbles are the best bang for my buck. Which ones actually make the most bubbles, the biggest bubbles, and which ones are all hype (or water)?

This bubble science experiment helped me find my favorite brand. I hate wasting money on crappy products that don’t bring joy to the kids. And this was a great way to avoid that.

Bubble Activities

There are so many great ways to use bubbles when running a home daycare. My kids love bubbles and I know yours do too. Here are some really fun ways to use bubbles with your daycare kids for hours of fun.

1. Bubble Blowing Station: Set up a bubble blowing station with various bubble wands. Toddlers can experiment with blowing bubbles and watching them float away. I love to use the long tubes from the dollar store and tie them to my chain link fence with zip ties so the kids can get the tops out but the bottoms are fixed in place so they can’t spill.
2. Bubble Painting: Mix a few drops of food coloring with bubble solution. Provide white paper and let toddlers blow colored bubbles onto the paper to create bubble art. It makes a really cool print when it pops.
3. Bubble Chasing: Blow bubbles for toddlers to chase and pop. This activity helps with their coordination and is a lot of fun. The best way I have found to do this is to get a bubble blower. I only have so much air and there are 7 of them and one of me.
4. Bubble Counting: Encourage toddlers to count the bubbles as they pop them. This activity is a fun way to practice counting skills.
5. Bubble Sensory Bin: Fill a shallow bin with bubble solution and add some toys. Toddlers can explore the bubbles with their hands and toys, enhancing their sensory experience.
6. Giant Bubbles: Use a large bubble wand or a DIY one made from string and sticks. Show toddlers how to make giant bubbles and let them try it themselves.
7. Bubble Wrap Stomp: Lay out bubble wrap on the floor and let toddlers stomp on it to pop the bubbles. It’s a great way to develop their motor skills and have fun with bubbles in a different form. This is a wonderful sensory experience for kids.
8. Bubble Freeze Dance: Play some music and blow bubbles while toddlers dance around. When the music stops, they have to freeze and try to catch the bubbles without moving.
9. Make your Own Bubbles and Wands: You can use pipe cleaners, disposable cups, a hula hoop, plastic straws, a toilet roll, cookie cutters, and more to make your own bubble wands. You can make your own bubble solution with dish detergent, light corn syrup or glycerine, and a cup of water. It’s so much fun to watch bubble formation and the science of bubbles and the perfect way to introduce science concepts to kids.
10. Bubble Stomp Rocket: Grab one of these stomp rockets that blows bubbles on it’s way up. So much fun!

These activities are not only fun but also help toddlers develop their motor skills, coordination, and sensory awareness. Enjoy the bubbly fun!

Bubble Science Experiment

We wanted to finally know who has the best brand of bubbles that give us the most bubbly fun! So we bought as many as we could find and put them to the test. First, we had to get our thinking caps on, and then we got to work on this simple experiment for little hands.

How do bubbles work anyway? Water molecules and layers of soap molecules work together in different ways to make a soap bubble with surface tension until the bubble pops. Light waves go through the bubble and make it look irridecent which makes bubbles all the more amazing to play with. 

Objective: To determine which brand of bubble mix creates the best bubbles.

Materials:

• Several brands of bubble solutions (at least three different brands)
• Bubble wands (one for each brand)

Procedure:

1. Introduction:
   • Gather the children and explain that today, we are going to find out which brand of bubble solution makes the best bubbles. Ask them what they think makes a bubble “the best” – size, how long it lasts before popping, or how many bubbles it can make at once.
2. Preparation:
   • Set up a bubble station for each brand of bubble solution. Make sure each station has a bubble wand and a small cup with the bubble solution from a specific brand.
3. Experiment:
   • Let each child blow bubbles using the different brands of bubble solution. Encourage them to observe and compare the bubbles based on size, how long they float before popping, and how many bubbles they can make.
4. Observation:
   • Have the children count the number of bubbles they can make with each brand in one breath.
   • Discuss the observations with the children. Ask questions like:
     • Which brand made the biggest bubbles?
     • Which brand’s bubbles lasted the longest?
     • Which brand made the most bubbles at once?
5. Recording Results:
   • Create a simple chart to record the results. Represent the different qualities observed (e.g., size, duration, quantity).
6. Conclusion:
   • Review the results with the children. Discuss which brand performed the best overall based on the observations.
   • Explain that scientists use experiments like this to compare things and find out which one works best.

Discussion:

• Ask the children if they enjoyed the experiment and what they learned.
• Encourage them to think about why one brand might have made better bubbles than another.
• Reinforce the idea that experiments help us learn and discover new things in a fun way.

This experiment is a fantastic way to introduce young children to the scientific method through a playful and engaging activity.

For our experiment, we bought bubbles at the dollar tree, got the long wands, and also tried the name brands Giant, Fubbles, and Gazillion because they were the top rated on Amazon. Here are our results below:

We found that Gazillion is named correctly and we got the most and best bubbles from it. We also got larger bubbles from the Giant brand. All of the bubbles were fun and wonderful for sure.

Preschool Science Experiments

Here are some more simple science experiments that use playful learning to explore the surface tension of water in a bubble. They make perfect preschool science experiment ideas for your lesson plans. And they are still fun activities for toddlers and preschoolers to learn from. 

1. Bubble Shapes: Materials: Various shaped bubble wands (circles, stars, hearts), bubble solution. Activity: Let children use different-shaped wands to blow bubbles and observe if the shape of the wand affects the shape of the bubbles. Discuss why bubbles are always round regardless of the wand shape.
2. Bubble Colors: Materials: Bubble solution, food coloring, white paper. Activity: Add different food coloring to separate cups of bubble solution. Have children blow bubbles onto white paper and observe the colors left behind. Discuss how light and colors interact with bubbles.
3. Bubble Measurements: Materials: Ruler or measuring tape, bubble solution, bubble wands. Activity: Blow bubbles and measure their diameter before they pop. Record the sizes and compare. Discuss which factors might influence the size of the bubbles (e.g., amount of bubble solution, wind, breath strength).
4. Bubble Lifespan: Materials: Stopwatch or timer, bubble solution, bubble wands. Activity: Blow bubbles and use a stopwatch to measure how long they last before popping. Record the times and compare. Discuss what might affect how long a bubble lasts (e.g., humidity, wind, temperature).
5. Bubble Catching: Materials: Bubble solution, bubble wands, gloves or pieces of fabric. Activity: Blow bubbles and try to catch them on different surfaces like gloves or fabric. Observe how the bubbles react to different materials. Discuss why some surfaces pop the bubbles while others do not.
6. Bubble Foam: Materials: Water, dish soap, straws, bowls. Activity: Mix water and dish soap in bowls, and use straws to blow bubbles into the mixture to create bubble foam. Discuss how the foam is made up of many tiny bubbles and how it’s different from single large bubbles.
7. Bubble Towers: Materials: Bubble solution, bubble wands, flat surface like a table. Activity: Blow bubbles on a flat surface and try to stack them on top of each other to create a tower. Discuss the challenges and why bubbles might pop when stacked.
8. Bouncing Bubbles: Materials: Bubble solution, glycerin, gloves. Activity: Mix glycerin into the bubble solution to make it stronger. Blow bubbles and use gloved hands to catch and bounce them. Discuss how the glycerin helps the bubbles last longer and be more durable.
9. Bubble Inside a Bubble: Materials: Bubble solution, bubble wands, straws. Activity: Blow a large bubble and then use a straw to blow smaller bubbles inside the large bubble. Discuss how air can be trapped inside bubbles and how bubbles can exist within bubbles.

These activities will keep preschoolers engaged and help them learn more about the science behind bubbles through hands-on exploration and play.

Science helps us understand how things work, and it all starts with curiosity and observation. From colorful rainbows in jars to fizzing volcanoes and magical milk, we’ll discover how everyday items can turn into amazing experiments. Let’s learn about science in the most playful way possible!

For more science experiments for daycare, check these out:

• Fireworks in a Jar Science Activity for Preschool
• Candy Cane Math and Science Activities for Preschool
• Lava Lamp Science for Preschool
• Fun Magic Dancing Rice Science Experiment for Kids
• How to Make a Catapult from Popsicle Sticks